Obituary of Phyllis Elaine Upham

Phyllis Elaine Upham (neé Perry), 91, of Minnetonka, died peacefully on 10/20/2020. Preceded in death by parents Clifford and Esther Perry and brother Paul Perry. Survived by daughter Cathy Gunderson (Mark) of Minnetonka; son Charles “Chip” Upham (Cathy) of Golden Valley; grandchildren Bjorn Gunderson (Allie), Rane Gunderson Cortez (Oliverio), Aren Gunderson (Jen), Sara Hamilton (Jon), Samuel Upham, and Benjamin Upham (Whitney Sanjari); and great-grandchildren Ada, Selah, Bergen, and Jack.

Born October 30, 1928 in Miami, FL, she headed to college in Iowa in 1946. After graduation she moved to Chicago where she married and began raising a family. Moves to Michigan and Colorado followed until Phyllis settled in Minnetonka in 1963. She divorced in 1970 and never remarried. Phyllis enjoyed being a realtor for 20 years, then began working for Volunteers of America and later NEAR Food Shelf in Crystal. She was always very involved with her church and Christian small groups and activities, including mission trips to Mexico and 5 months in China. Phyllis’ heart for serving God and blessing other people never wavered.

Phyllis was a beloved mother, grandmother (“Nama” and “Mema”), and great-grandmother. She cared deeply for her family as well as her many friends and the people she served at work. Phyllis was humble, gracious, kind, and compassionate. Above all, she loved watching others succeed in life, and especially grow in their faith and knowledge of God’s love and plans for them. Phyllis will be greatly missed by all, but she left a wonderful example for us to follow. We know she is celebrating in Glory now.

A celebration of her life will be held at Serenity Village Church in Crystal on Wednesday, November 4, at 1pm. All attendees MUST register to attend and Covid mandates for temperature checks, masks, and social distance will be in place. Register at: https://svcc.as.me/phyllisupham.

Suggested memorial donation sites: NEAR Food Shelf - NearFoodShelf.org, The Nature Conservancy - Nature.org, or Serenity Village Community Church - serenityvillagecc.org